Learn myths and facts about our country's population of unauthorized immigrants, including 325,000 in Arizona.

Immigration was one of the most hotly debated topics of the presidential race and, now, in President Donald Trump's new administration. To better understand and go beyond politicians’ talking points, let's separate immigration fact from myth.

Is the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. skyrocketing?

Myth: Despite immigration being a top political issue, the nation’s unauthorized population has declined since 2009 and stabilized in recent years.

There were 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2014, making up about 3.5 percent of the population of the United States, according to Pew Research Center reports from late 2016. The number peaked in 2007 at 12.2 million.

"This population has remained essentially stable since 2009 after nearly two decades of changes," according to Pew, which is a highly respected, nonpartisan think tank that analyzes public opinion polling, demographic research and other data-driven social science research.

Are most undocumented immigrants from Mexico?

Undocumented Mexican immigrants walk through the Sonoran Desert in 2011 after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border border.(Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

Fact: Mexicansrepresent the largest number of unauthorized immigrants, but their population has been steadily declining since the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009.

Mexicans made up 52 percent of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2014, according to Pew.

The top three states where the largest percentage of unauthorized immigrants were from Mexico were New Mexico (91 percent), Idaho (87 percent) and Arizona (81 percent), according to Pew.

Meanwhile, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa rose between 2009 and 2014, offsetting the decline from Mexico, according to Pew.

Fact: President Donald Trump previously proposed a "deportation force" that he claimed could deport the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. "humanely" in 18 months to two years.

After he was elected, he rolled back the idea, saying in November that he would immediately deport 2 to 3 million unauthorized immigrants who "have criminal records."

A recent analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that Trump's order during his first week in office to overhaul immigration law enforcement could make up to 8 million people who are in the country illegally a priority for deportation.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s notorious "Operation Wetback" resulted in as many as 1.3 million people being forcibly expelled or chased out of the country.

Trump's plans surpass Eisenhower’s, Bush's and Obama's, both in number and in speed.

Does Arizona have one of the largest undocumented populations in the country?

Alan Salinas is a undocumented immigrant brought to the U.S. from Mexico City when he was 14. Here he is while working for the Arizona Dream Act Coalition in 2014.(Photo: Nick Oza/The Republic)

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area was 10th on the list, with a estimated 250,000 unauthorized immigrants making up 5.5 percent of the area's population in 2014.

"Five of the 20 metros with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations are in California: Los Angeles, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose. Three – Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin – are in Texas," according to Pew.

Arizona had a total of about 325,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2014, according to Pew, making up 4.9 percent of the state's population.

The states with the largest populations of unauthorized immigrants are, in order: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.